Following special screenings last weekend to coincide with Dublin's Pride celebrations, Unicorns is now on general release in Ireland and the UK.

Hailed as one of the best independent British films of the year (so far), it finds bloke-y mechanic, Luke, having to rethink his sexuality after unexpectedly falling for Indian Muslim drag queen Aysha.

Luke is played with great nuance by Ben Hardy who, after two years as Peter Beale in EastEnders, has gone on to notch up high-profile roles in X-Men: Apocalypse, Bohemian Rhapsody – his portrayal of Roger Taylor was spookily accurate – and Netflix’s Love At First Sight, which secretly all made us cry.

Unicorns is set against the backdrop of London's underground Gaysian scene with some of the key scenes filmed in one of the clubs it revolves around.

“I had no idea that you had this whole drag thing going on in the basement of an Indian restaurant; it was fucking amazing!” Ben enthuses. “My first time stepping into that club was when we filmed the scene, so it was a totally new experience for me as well as Luke.”

As wildly entertaining as it is – “I hope people leave the cinema feeling happier than when they came in,” Ben says – Unicorns also documents how taboo being LGBTQI+ is in certain sections of the Asian community.

“James Krishna Floyd and his co-director, Sally El Hosaini, speak about how heart-breaking it was getting whispered audition tapes from people filmed in their bathrooms because they were afraid their families would hear and judge them,” Ben recounts. “It’s not acceptable for them to be who they are within the family unit. I hope they can watch this film and get something from it.”

You can read a full interview with Ben in the new issue of Hot Press which hits shelves next week!